Rhoda Burrows of SDSU Extension sent us the following information. She says that anyone interested in becoming a Master Gardener should sign up soon because the classes are filling up.

SDSU Extension is offering Master Gardener training in Rapid City, Aberdeen, Brookings and Sioux Falls.

The SDSU Extension Master Gardener program trains volunteers to provide horticultural information to the residents of South Dakota. The training consists of more than 60 hours of class work provided by SDSU Extension specialists.

Topics include basic botany, insects and diseases, plant propagation, pruning, fertilizing, plant selection and other aspects of growing fruit, vegetables, lawns, and landscape plants.

To earn the designation of SDSU Extension Master Gardener, graduates of the classroom training are required to complete 50 hours of volunteer service as an intern with SDSU Extension Service. They are then presented official badges and are designated certified Master Gardeners.

Volunteer service can vary, depending on individual’s skills and the needs of the local community. Some volunteers answer telephone or online requests for information, host plant clinics or speak to groups. Others assist with demonstration gardens, farmers markets, youth gardens, 4-H activities or write articles for local newspapers. Still others help with research projects, or serve as a volunteer coordinator.

The training schedule is as follows: Aberdeen Regional Extension Center, Tuesdays, May 15th through July 10th; Rapid City West River Agricultural Center, Thursdays, May 31-July 26th; and Sioux Falls Regional Extension Center, Fridays, May 4- July 6th. Classes run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  There will also be training in Brookings on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from May 1 through June 28th.

The cost of regular training, which includes a larger binder and other materials, is $160 per individual (or $210 for two individuals sharing materials). For $500 a person may pay to take the classroom training only without the 50 hours obligated service but will not receive Master Gardener status.

Information and application materials are available online at the South Dakota Master Gardener Web site http://hortmg.sdstate.edu.

Applications with $50 deposits may be submitted to: West River Agricultural  Center, 1905 Plaza Drive, Rapid City, SD  57702; Sioux Falls Regional Extension Center, 2001 E. 8^th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57103; c/o Lisa Ulvestad, Plant Science Dept., SDSU, Box 2207A, Brookings, SD  57007; or Regional Extension Center, 13 – 2^nd Ave. S.E., Aberdeen, SD  57401.

For more information, contact Dr. Rhoda Burrows at 605-394-2236 or rhoda.burrrows@sdstate.edu

Chris Zdorovtsov of SDSU Extension sent us this message:

There will be a Youth Gardening Webinar May 16^th starting at 3:45 pm CDT. These Webinars are perfect for schoolteachers and afterschool and summer garden program leaders – basically anyone who works with youth and would like to see youth step outside and embrace gardening.

The Webinars will run the last Wednesday of the month, 3:45-4:45 p.m. An additional Webinar will run during the growing season. Webinars are an hour long and will typically have two presentation topics running 15 to 20 minutes each with about 20 minutes for a question answer session within the learning community.

Presentation 1  Ages & Stages in the Garden by Marilyn Rasmussen, 4-H/Youth Development Specialist, SDSU Extension

Presentation 2  Food Safety in the Garden by Lavonne Meyer, Food Safety Field Specialist, SDSU Extension

Discussion  Time to Get Growing- status updates

Click here to join the webinar. You can join the session up to 30 minutes before it starts.

Farmers who have hoop houses planted their tomatoes last winter, and Becky Kirby of Newell when asked if she has any ripe ones recently said, “Well, we’ve tasted some.” Mark Scholl will be delivering his Happy Hydros to Rapid City and Spearfish today.

The tomato, being a subtropical plant that evolved in South America, likes heat and sunshine and perishes in the cold. The South Dakota growing season is too short for growing tomatoes from seed out in the open. A hard frost will reduce a tomato plant to a soggy heap of blackened leaves and stems.

So the question in our area is: When do I set out the plants I bought or grew from seed in a cold frame? My personal rule of thumb is to watch what the Rapid City Parks Department does. When they plant their marigolds—another non-native frost sensitive plant–I plant my tomatoes.

For those who want to plant by the numbers, meteorologist Jim Miller sent us this info on the average date of last frosts in Rapid City. As you will see, choosing the best date is a form of gambling:

The average last frost date (less than 32 degrees F) is May 7th….I recall the latest date was 13 June…but that’s an extreme date…first fall frost date averages at 4 Oct…but again, highly variable.

Of course if you live at a higher elevation or in a creek bottom, the numbers will be different.

Soil temperature is important as well. Master Gardener Cathie Draine tells us that the soil temperature should be 55° or higher.

And then there are the red or black pots and plastic plates that can help. As we learned in fourth grade (in simplified form), the energy of sunlight turns to heat when it strikes an object. The color black turns almost all the energy to heat and the color red converts most of it to heat. White, on the other hand, reflects a lot of energy. So surrounding a new plant with either red or black will give it a little extra heat, and a young just-planted tomato plant will appreciate that.

For instructions on the use of red plates, click here. The red or black pots? See the photo above. Those aren’t tomato plants, but the principle is the same.

Jillian Anawaty sent us this post:

Announcing the 3rd Annual Sturgis EarthFest

Attention all Earth and Nature Enthusiasts

As summer approaches, area residents and visitors have many opportunities to, as Sturgis EarthFest puts it, “celebrate the abundance of nature and life in the Black Hills.”

Planning for the Third Annual Sturgis EarthFest is well underway with intentions to raise awareness and connect the community around a love, enjoyment, and respect for the planet and each other.

Sturgis EarthFest is a free celebration of green, local, and healthy living in the Black Hills with a farmers-market-type set-up of local foods and goods, live acoustic music, demonstrations and hands-on learning seminars for children and adults. Topics include local resources, gardening, composting, healthy eating, bee keeping, recycling, and outdoor activities. There will be on-going activities and projects throughout the day.

The festival will be held Saturday, June 16th at the park next to the Sturgis Community Center, 1401 Lazelle Street. If there’s rain, EarthFest will move inside the Community Center.

Sturgis EarthFest is accepting applications for vendors and presenters who offer earthy wisdom and/or have something to sell: food, an idea, or a product with an underlying organic, green, local, sustainable goodness. Applications can be submitted at SturgisEarthFest.com.

“We want to bring together some fantastic people who enjoy and showcase the goodness of the earth and renewal,” says Jillian Anawaty, Sturgis EarthFest co-organizer.

What: Sturgis EarthFest 2012

When: Saturday, June 16th from 10 am to 5 pm

Where: Park next to the Sturgis Community Center, 1401 Lazelle Street

Cost: FREE

Contacts:

Jillian Anawaty   Herben Legends, Vibrant Life (605) 484-5401

Scottie Bruch   Sturgis Yoga (605) 490-7972

Michelle Grosek   Bear Butte Gardens (605) 490-2919

Area gardeners will soon have a great opportunity to get together, share plants, and acquire new plants at very low cost thanks to the Pennington County Master Gardeners and the Rapid City Garden Club.  The fourteenth annual Rapid City Plant Share will be held on Saturday, May 19, 2012 at the 4-H building at the Central States Fairgrounds in Rapid City.  Plant check-in will be from 7:30 to 9:30.  Those contributing plants will receive a single coupon for four plants and can purchase additional coupons for $1.  Please label the type of plants you bring.  If the variety is unknown, include as much information as is known such as flower color, height, etc.  Plant pick-up will begin at 10:00 and will proceed in order according to coupon number.  (The first people to drop off plants will be the first people to choose plants.)  Bring buckets if you would like to collect city compost that will be available.  There will also be a free table for gardeners to share other materials such as gardening magazines, pots, or tools.

Dakota Local Food Network will be there with free seeds to share that remained from our Seed Exchange in February.  Keep in mind that we plan to make our winter seed exchange an annual event. This is a great way to obtain seeds that are not only free, but are also adapted to our area and so are more likely to thrive in our conditions. This fall we hope that area gardeners will gather up some of their seeds to share with others and trade for something new.  Meanwhile, we hope to see you at the Plant Share.